James Beard's American Cookery might be worth a look for you. It's not "up to the minute" since Beard wrote it in 1972 and died in 1985, but it might give you some good historical background on American foodways.

Becoming a Chef by Dornenburg and Page. Read that first. Don't worry about cooking certain dishesm, those you can learn anytime. Work on a line. Work like a dog. Work as many hours as you can possibly handle and then work more. Become one with any knife. Cook with the seasons, know what is local, keep it clean and fresh. Mostly just work as many hours as you can. You will learn if you really want to. When you get to menu writing, start with the Flavor Bible for a reference.

OK back to the topic at hand, I have a question for Petals. Several years ago we did a trip around the Gaspe on a fishing trip and wound up at a lodge up with the fine folks from the Federation du Saumon Atlantique and ESPN's Reel guys. IIR the guides spoke a lot about a dish where they would can the venison of deer or Moose along with ruffed grouse (yum) for storage and then make a pie with the meat in the winter months. Any ideas what that may have been?

Dave

Edited by DuckFat - 5/25/12 at 2:27am

I think the most wonderful thing in the world is another chef. I'm always excited about learning new things about food.Paul Prudhomme

Gite du Mont Albert rt. 299 inland from Ste Anne des Monts, there is an Inn there with a great culinary reputation. : smoked salmon, game consommé, pheasant confit, rack of caribou with garlic cloudberry jelly....

My friend who passed away not that long ago had some homes down there, Cyril Devouge, he was the best fiddler in Gaspe. If anyone should ever ask about “Cy” Devouge and his fiddling and his wife Edna’s fish cakes, they will tell you all about it.

But there is nothing more serene than:

walking down to the ocean in the early morning, the cool breeze against your skin, the salt air, watching the sun come up , the sea gulls flying high and the soft splash of the waves rolling in.

Petals

ps. French food in Gaspe is unique and wonderful. The fishing is not bad either

Petals your discriptive writing is very good you should attempt to write a book.

Chef EdBOver 50 years in food service business 35 as Ex Chef. Specializing in Volume upscale Catering both on and off premise .(former Exec. Chef in the largest on premise caterer in US with 17 Million Dollars per year annual volume). Well versed in all facets of Continental Cuisine...

Chef EdBOver 50 years in food service business 35 as Ex Chef. Specializing in Volume upscale Catering both on and off premise .(former Exec. Chef in the largest on premise caterer in US with 17 Million Dollars per year annual volume). Well versed in all facets of Continental Cuisine...

Thank you ChefEd, those were kind words, a nice way to end my shift, its 11:12 , you made my day.

@ Dave : can't beat a rainbow , a salmon or artic char for that matter. There is a place I go to in St.George the Beauce, a camp in the middle of nowhere, you get up early in the morning before the fish even know your coming and you slowely make your way down the rocks, careful not to trip into the shallow water and as the water ripples down , you spot the fresh water brook trout, not big, 5-8 inches long, just big enough to flip into a cast iron pan with butter and lemon. The dew is still wet on the grass....the campfire is slowely burning.

Mmmm. Great memories of the Gaspe and the Maritimes. When we moved to Minneapolis, my wife and I took a month off and drove from Minnesota to Montreal, to Maine and up the coast through the Maritimes. Came back through the Gaspe to Quebec City and Montreal on the way home. The best lobster bisque I've ever had was at a gas station restaurant at Cape Tormentine, waiting for the ferry to PEI. That and fresh local sea scallops and linguini cooked at our camp site at the Bay of Fundy (with the 47 foot tides). My wife was born and grew up in Montreal, although her parents were Americans. So I have been fortunate to have ample opportunity to visit Montreal and Quebec City (we are long overdue for another visit as we now usually go out to BC where her sister lives in the interior). Yup, the food in Quebec and the Maritimes is different than the states. Generally a step (or two or three) above what you can commonly get here. On the other hand, of course, there is Poutine. We do make butter tarts, crepes, flan, moules marinaire and tourtiere with some frequency at home. A number of dishes (or variations) on Petals' list are also in regular rotation at home, along with the Asian dishes that I grew up with.

A lot of Petals' list looks like Bistro food to me. With that in mind, I'd suggest Patricia Well's Bistro cookbook. Nice and straight forward take on "classic" Bistro dishes. Simple ingredients and basic techniques -- but dishes where the quality of the ingredients will be apparent. Less fussy than most of her other French cook books. I've given away lots of copies to nieces and nephews learning to cook for themselves. Eminently manageable for anyone who can shop and follow directions. I'd also add The New Orleans Cookbook by Rima and Richard Collins to American regional cookbook list as New Orleans/Louisiana food seems to me to be the most extensive and cohesive American regional cuisine. Presupposes that everyone should know how to make a roux and make a gumbo. Ultimately, I suppose what constitutes a "classic" dish depends on what culture you are from and the cuisines to which you have been exposed. Insert extensive discourse on Hawaiian Plate Lunch here (cue Kaneohegirl).